The Builders Podcast Generator v2

Generate Acquired-style podcast episodes with two distinct hosts.

Two Modes

Mode	Flag	Duration	Research	Turns	Use Case
Quick Dive	`--quick`	15-20 min	1 pass Gemini	~110	Fast turnaround
Deep Dive	`--deep`	45-60 min	5-layer + o3 synthesis	~250	True Acquired-style

Quick Start

cd /home/elie/github/clawdis/skills/thebuilders-v2

# Quick dive (15-20 min) - default
node scripts/generate.mjs "Costco" -o /tmp/costco

# Deep dive (45-60 min)
node scripts/generate.mjs "Costco" --deep -o /tmp/costco-deep

# Skip research (use existing)
node scripts/generate.mjs "Costco" --deep -o /tmp/costco --skip-research

Quick Dive Mode

Single research pass, 8 sections:

INTRO (8 turns)
HOOK (12 turns)
ORIGIN (20 turns)
INFLECTION_1 (18 turns)
INFLECTION_2 (18 turns)
MESSY_MIDDLE (14 turns)
NOW (12 turns)
TAKEAWAYS (10 turns)

Total: ~112 turns / 15-20 min

Deep Dive Mode

5-layer research + 11 sections:

Research Layers

Overview - Gemini Deep Research
Founders - Interview quotes, early stories
Decisions - Contemporary WSJ/NYT coverage
Financials - Revenue, margins, metrics
Contrarian - Failures, criticism, struggles

Research Synthesis (o3)

Extracts:

50 most surprising facts
10 best quotes with attribution
5 "Wait, really?" moments
Key timeline with dates
Contrarian takes

Sections

INTRO (10 turns)
HOOK (15 turns)
ORIGIN (35 turns) - deep founder story
EARLY_PRODUCT (25 turns) - how it actually worked
INFLECTION_1 (25 turns) - first major decision
SCALE (25 turns) - operational details
INFLECTION_2 (25 turns) - second crisis
COMPETITION (20 turns)
CULTURE (20 turns)
NOW (20 turns)
TAKEAWAYS (15 turns)

Total: ~235 turns / 45-60 min

The Hosts

Host	Voice	Perspective
Maya Chen (Person1)	alloy	Technical - "How does this actually work?"
James Porter (Person2)	echo	Strategic - "For context... The lesson here is..."

Output Files

output/
├── research.md              # Quick mode research
├── research-combined.md     # Deep mode combined research
├── research-synthesis.md    # Deep mode o3 synthesis
├── hooks.md                 # Hook options
├── script.txt               # Full dialogue
├── audio/                   # Individual turns
└── episode.mp3              # Final episode

Time Estimates

Mode	Research	Script	TTS	Total
Quick	5 min	3 min	1 min	~10 min
Deep	15 min	10 min	3 min	~30 min

Key Differences

Aspect	Quick	Deep
Research passes	1	5
Research synthesis	None	o3 extracts key facts
Sections	8	11
ORIGIN depth	20 turns	35 turns
Quotes required	Encouraged	Mandatory
Context per section	10KB	25KB

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